This report is the second in a series examining the causes and consequences of chronic absenteeism during the early school years, based on analyses of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K, National Center for Education Statistics). It is part of National Center for Children in Poverty's larger Pathways to Early School Success project which promotes strategies that improve the social, emotional and physical health of low-income children in the U.S.. This report shows that maternal and family risks are associated with greater absenteeism and that the cumulative exposure to risk best predicts chronic absenteeism in early schooling. Kindergartners in contact with three or more risks missed, on average, three or more days than their peers not facing any risks. But as children progress through the elementary grades, the impact of cumulative risk on school attendance lessens, only to rise again in the fifth grade. This report also reveals that it is the most vulnerable children--that is, those who are poor or racial/ethnic minorities or suffer from poor health--who have the greatest exposure to cumulative risk. (Contains 36 endnotes.)